Essays on manufacturing-related management accounting

In general companies continuously have to improve their operations to be able to survive in the global competition. They have to be better in utilizing their resources today compared to what they were yesterday. The production systems have changed during the 20 century and factories today do not look like they did hundred years ago. Focus has moved from mass production towards flexibility. The changes in production philosophy have not been followed by a corresponding change in different supporting functions. Research shows that many companies still use accounting methods that have not been developed since the 1930s. The purpose of this licentiate thesis is to provide perspectives on some aspects concerning the relationship between manufacturing operations management and management accounting. This will increase the knowledge and understanding of how management accounting information supports manufacturing decision making. This thesis reports findings from four studies designed to investigate the informational relationship between management accounting and operations management in companies. Results from this research shows that there are many factors to consider when choosing and designing an appropriate management accounting system. Contextual factors include market, manufacturing strategy, technology, and organization. This thesis also reports on the difficulties of making theoretically sound methods work in practice. This thesis contributes with some explanatory aspects on the practical problem and investigates some potential ways forward concerning manufacturing-related management accounting.